Bike Commuting Study Courtesy of League of American Bicyclist

A bike parking rack takes up less space and is becoming a preferred part of the urban landscape as research shows more people choose to ride their bikes to work instead of drive their cars.

The League of American Bicyclists issued a report recently indicating that from 2000 to 2011, bicycle commuting in bike-friendly communities skyrocketed by 80%.

Here's a breakdown of some of the cities with the highest growth in bike commuters. These city dwellers prefer to leave their mode of transportation in a space-saving parking bike rack instead of their car in a space-wasting garage:

  • Portland - 443%
  • Lexington-Fayette County, KY - 435%
  • Washington DC - 315%
  • San Francisco - 258%

Those are tremendous increases. What are transportation planners doing right in these cities that the rest of the country is not? They're creating more bike lanes and adding more public bike racks. In general, just making it easier to pedal than drive.

That's amazing. More people are opting to hop on their bikes and make the ride to work than hop in their cars, a taxi, bus or train. Think of all the land this frees up in a congested city.

And there's no way all of these commutes are an easy five minutes. Some people are probably putting in some serious bicycle time.

Every bike parking rack makes a town more bicycle friendly

The benefits of riding your bike to work and locking it up at a commercial bike rack in front of your job are noteworthy. Worth reminding people.

We can talk all day long about how riding a bike is great for the environment. But the real payoff has more impact when you talk about the personal benefits.

First off, traffic certainly seems to be worse than ever. Everybody drives. Many people drive alone. If you can do it, riding your bike to work is going to totally circumvent the daily, dreaded American event called the rush hour traffic jam.

bike parking rack A bike parking rack can now be customized with laser-cut technology

Of course, you will get in better shape. There's certainly a dollar value in being healthier. But you can also take pride knowing you are staying in shape without the cost of a gym membership if you spend your days riding a bike. Pedaling creates plenty of exercise - the low impact on your joints type of exercise. Certainly kinder to your body than bench-pressing 200 pounds.

You save money on gas. You save money on parking. You save on tolls. As motorists sadly know, the price for all of those items has ballooned in the past decade.

While bicycle riders must also adhere to traffic laws, hopefully chances are you won't be speeding like you can in a car. That ticket can be very costly. Time-consuming if you attend traffic school. Parking fines are not fun either.

And less driving means less wear and tear on the vehicle which can be costly, especially when the auto repair guy walks up to you with his inevitable list of ALL the other work that needs to be done.

"I see the dramatic increase in ridership on my own daily bike commute," said League President Andy Clarke. "And it's definitely more pronounced in those communities - like Arlington County and the District of Columbia - that are proactively improving conditions for bicycling and following the Bicycle Friendly Community blueprint."

That blueprint is a guide on how to make a city or town more bike-friendly.

Urban planners, transportation officials and city managers would be smart to add more public bike racks in their town. This will cut down on vehicular traffic and any time you can decrease vehicular traffic, you are making major strides in making your city a more pleasant place to live.

Savvy business owners would be smart to add a commercial bike rack near their facility. Schools and universities would be smart to add a bike parking rack and bike lane in more key areas for students. When is student parking not a problem?

Even restaurants, clubs and grocery stores should make their locations more bicycle-friendly. Add commercial bike racks. Perhaps traffic at night in town is horrendous and could be keeping people from going out. Many people prefer to bike on weekends. By making it easier to reach your location by bicycle, you are creating alternative ways for people to become your customers.

The study clearly demonstrates, given a choice, many people enjoy riding their bikes to work, school or other destinations.

Give residents a safe bicycle lane, a secure bike parking rack and the encouragement to use them!

To read the study from the League of American Bicyclists click here.

The Park Catalog offers a large assortment of bicycle racks. Some can be quick shipped in just 3 days.